The Night Before Christmas

New York clergyman Clement C. Moore's classic 1822 poem and gorgeous new illustratons by Ruth Sanderson are combined in this iconographic animated short narrated by Anthony Edwards. While the enhanced pictures, added sound effects, and Moore's own stirring poetry are sure to rekindle warm memories in viewers' hearts, the overall effect is dampened for two reasons. First, Edwards' narration lacks both the authority and the wide-eyed wonder of earlier renditions I recall as a youngster; Edwards' delivery seems workmanlike at best. Second, the price--though on a par with other institutional pricing from Weston Woods--seems high in this particular case. Surely, WW could have achieved a substantially higher volume of sales at a price more in line with the "giving" spirit of Christmas. Still, this is a good optional purchase, because the adaptation--excepting Edwards' narration--is visually rich. (R. Pitman)